Garment hanger

ABSTRACT

In a garment hanger, a hanger hook is supported on a hanger body for movement between extended and retracted positions. The hanger body includes gripping members for receiving a garment and has shank and tip receiving slots formed in it. The hanger hook includes a shank that is slidably supported in the shank receiving slot and a member at one end of the shank for selective engagement with the shank receiving slot to secure the hanger hook in the extended position. A support extends laterally from the other end of the shank, and a tip extends from the support for selective engagement with the tip receiving aperture to secure the hanger hook in the retracted position.

United States Patent 1 Haggar [52] U.S. Cl ..223/96, 24/2305 [51]lnt.Cl.; ..A47j 51/098, A47j 51/14 [58] Field of Search ..223/96, 85,87, 88,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,347,414 4/1944 Kearns223/87 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 859,013 Great Britain ..223/87Primary Examiner-George H. Krizmanich AttorneyRichards, Harris andHubbard [57] ABSTRACT In a garment hanger, a hanger hook is supported ona hanger body for movement between extended and retracted positions. Thehanger body includes gripping members for receiving a garment and hasshank and tip receiving slots formed in it. The hanger hook includes ashank that is slidably supported in the shank receiving slot and amember at one end of the shank for selective engagement with the shankreceiving slot to secure the hanger hook in the extended position. Asupport extends laterally from the other end of the shank, and a tipextends from the support for selective engagement with the tip receivingaperture to secure the hanger hook in the retracted position.

11 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTED 51973 3.731.857

3a INVENTOR EDMOND R. HA GGAR ATTO R N E Y S GARMENT HANGER BACKGROUNDAND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION the like are typically displayed either onracks or on ta- 1 bles. In either case, it is often difficult toascertain the brand name of a particular garment because the only placethat the brand name appears is on a label which is attached to thegarment at the waistband.

The present invention comprises a novel garment hanger useful indisplaying slacks and similar garments both on racks and on tables. Inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, a garmenthanger comprises a hanger body adapted to receive a garment and a hangerhook which bears the brand name of the garment. If the garment is to bedisplayed on a rack, the hanger hook is moved to an extended positionand is engaged withthe rack. On the other hand, if the garment is to bedisplayed on a table, the hanger hook is moved to a retracted positionso that it does not become entangled with other hangers, etc. Thecomponents parts of the garment hanger are so arranged that the brandname on the hanger hook is visible regardless of whether the hanger hookis in the extended position or in the retracted position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING A more complete understanding of theinvention may be had by referring to the following Detailed Descriptionwhen taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a garment hanger incorporating the presentinvention in which the hanger hook of the hanger is shown in theextended position, and

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the hanger hook of thegarment hanger in the retracted position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the Drawing, a garment hangerincorporating the present invention is shown. The garment hanger 10comprises a hanger body 12 and a hanger hook 14 which is mounted on thehanger body 12 for movement between the extended position shown in FIG.1 and the retracted position shown in FIG. 2.

The hanger body 12 includes a pair of garment gripping members 16 and abar 18 which interconnects the gripping members 16. As is best shown inFIG. 2, the bar 18 of the hanger body 12 includes a central portion 20which extends between and beneath a pair of end portions 22.

The central portion 20 of the bar .18 of the hanger body 12 has a shankreceiving aperture 24 and a tip receiving aperture 26 formed in it. Inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the hangerbody 12 is molded from one of the various plastic materials and theapertures 24 and 26 are formed by displacing sections, of the centralportion 20 outwardly therefrom. In such a case, the apertures 24 and 26comprise aligned slots which are relatively wide and thin in shape.

The hanger hook 14 comprises a shank 28 and a sup-' port 30 whichextends laterally from one end of the shank 28. A tip 32 extends fromthe end of the support 30 remote from the shank 28 for selectiveengagement with the tip receiving aperture 26 of the hanger body 12 tosecure the hanger hook 14 in the retracted position illustrated in FIG.2. A retaining member 34 is formed at the end of the shank 28 remotefrom the sup- 0 port 30 and comprises a first portion 36 for engagementwith the shank receiving aperture 24 to secure the hanger hook 14 in theextended position illustrated in FIG. 1. The retaining member 34 furthercomprises a second portion 38 having a width substantially greater thanthe width of the aperture 24 which functions to prevent movement of theshank 28 out of the aperture 24. The hanger hook 14 may be formed fromone of the various plastic materials and is preferably substantiallyequal in thickness to the apertures 24 and 26.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the Drawing, eachgarment gripping member 16 of the garment hanger 10 comprises a pair ofhinged jaws 40, one of which is attached to the bar 18 of the hangerbody 12. One of the jaws 40 of each gripping member 16 is provided witha plurality of stepped notches 42, while the other jaw 40 is providedwith a tab 44 which engages the notches 42 to grip a garment such as apair of slacks between the jaws 40. It will be appreciated, however,that the present invention is not limited to the particular grippingmembers illustrated in the Drawing and that gripping membersincorporating various other designs can be employed in the practice ofthe invention.

In use, the garment hanger 10 is attached to a garment such as a pair ofslacks by the manufacturer of the garment. Then, the garment isdistributed to a retailer for sale. Depending on the availablefacilities, the retailer displays the garment either vertically on arack or horizontally on a table.

If vertical display is desired, the retailer positions the hanger hook14 in the extended position illustrated in FIG. 1. The first portion 36of the retaining member 34 of the hanger hook 14 preferably hasdimensions substantially identical to the dimensions of the shankreceiving aperture 24 formed in the hanger body 12, and thereforefunctions to secure the hanger book 14 in the extended position.

When the hanger hook 14 is positioned as shown in FIG. 1, it isavailable for engagement with a rack to display a garment vertically.That is, the support 30 of the hanger hook 14 is engaged with a rack,whereupon the tip 32 serves to retain the garment hanger 10 on the rack.It is contemplated that the support 30 of the garment hanger 10 willbear a brand name such as the name of the manufacturer of the garment.In such a case, the brand name is visible at a point just above the rackwhich supports the garment.

If the retailer desires to display the garment on a table, the hangerhook 14 of the garment hanger 10 'is positioned in the retractedposition illustrated in FIG. 2. As the hanger book 14 is moved to theretracted position, the opposite sides of the shank 28 and the tip 32engage the corresponding sides of the apertures 24 and 26 to secure thehanger hook 14 in the retracted position. This locates the hanger hook14 substantially entirely within the garment and thus prevents thehanger hook from becoming entangled with garment hangers attached toother garments that are displayed on the same table.

It will be noted that whenthe hangerhook 14 is in the retracted positionshown in FlG. 2, the upper portion of the support 30 of the hanger hook14 is positioned in alignment with the end portions 22 of the hangerbody 12, and extends across the gap therebetween. By this means, thebrand name on the support 30 is visible from both sides of the hanger10, notwithstanding the fact that the hanger hook 14 is in the retractedposition. Thus, the brand name is readily visible regardless of whetherthe garment is displayed vertically or horizontally.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the present inventioncomprises a garment hanger useful for displaying slacks and similargarments either vertically or horizontally. In accordance with thepreferred embodiment of the invention, a garment hanger comprises ahanger body for receiving a garment and a hanger hook supported on thehanger body for movement between an extended position and a retractedposition. The hanger hook preferably bears a brand name and thecomponent parts of the hanger are preferably so arranged that the brandname is visible regardless of whether the hanger hook is in the extendedposition or the retracted position.

Although the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustratedin the Drawing and described in the foregoing specification, it will beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the embodimentdisclosed, but is capable of rearrangement, modification, andsubstitution of parts and elements without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A garment hanger comprising:

an elongate hanger body including garment gripping means at the oppositeends thereof and having a pair of slots formed in it at a point midwaybetween the garment gripping means and a support including a shankslidably received in one of the slots in the hanger body, means at oneend of the shank for preventing movement of the shank out of the slot, ahook extending laterally from the other end of the shank and a tip onthe hook in spaced alignment with the other slot for selectiveengagement therewith in the hanger body to locate the hanger hookrelative to the hanger body.

2. The garment hanger according to claim 1 wherein said one of the slotsin the hanger body has a predetermined width, and wherein the means forpreventing movement of the shank out of the slot comprises a memberfixed to said one end of the shank and having a width substantiallygreater than the width of the slot.

3. The garment hanger according to claim 2 wherein the shank portion ofthe hanger hook includes a portion located adjacent the member at saidone end of the shank portion and having a width substantially equal tothe width of the slot, said portion cooperating with the slot to securethe hanger hook in the extended position.

4. The garment hanger according to claim 1 wherein the slots in thehanger body are positioned adjacent each other and extend in the samedirection.

5. The garment hanger according to claim 4 wherein the slots in thehanger body include end surfaces which engage corresponding end surfaceson the tip and the shank of the hanger hook to retain the hanger hook ina retracted position.

6. A hanger for displaying garments either vertically or horizontallycomprising:

a hanger body including garment engaging means and having spaced,aligned shank receiving and tip receiving apertures formed in it, and

a support including a shank slidably extending through the shankreceiving aperture in the hanger body, a hook extending laterally fromone end of the shank, means at the end of the shank remote from the hookfor selective engagement with the shank receiving aperture in the hangerbody to secure the hanger hook in an extended position relative to thehanger body, and a tip extending from the hook remote from the shank inspaced alignment with said tip receiving aperture for selectiveengage-ment therewith in the hanger body to secure the hanger hook in aretracted position relative to the hanger body.

7. The garment hanger according to claim 6 wherein the shank receivingaperture in the hanger body comprises a slot having a predeterminedwidth and wherein the means for securing the hanger hook in an extendedposition comprises a first member secured to the end of the shank remotefrom the support and having a width substantially equal to the width ofthe shank receiving slot and a second member secured to the first memberand having a width substantially greater than the width of the shankreceiving slot.

8. The garment hanger according to claim 7 wherein the tip receivingaperture in the hanger body comprises a slot having a predeterminedwidth and wherein the tip of the hanger hook includes a portion that issubstantially equal in width to the width of the tip receiving slot.

9. The garment hanger according to claim 6 wherein the shank receivingand tip receiving apertures of the hanger body comprise aligned slots ofpredetermined thickness, and wherein the hanger hook comprises a unitarystructure having substantially the same predetermined thickness as theslots.

10. The garment hanger according to claim 6 wherein the garment engagingmeans of the hanger body comprises a pair of garment gripping memberspositioned on opposite sides of the hanger hook, and wherein the tipreceiving aperture of the hanger body and the tip of the hanger hookcooperate to selectively position the support of the hanger hook on aline extending between the garment engaging members of the hanger body.

11. A hanger for selectively displaying slacks and similar garmentseither vertically or horizontally, which comprises:

an elongate plastic hanger body including garment gripping apparatus atthe opposite ends thereof, portions extending inwardly from the garmentgripping apparatus in alignment therewith, and a central portioninterconnecting the inwardly extending portions and positionedsubstantially beneath the inwardly extending portions to define an opengap therebetween,

said central portion of the hanger body having spaced, aligned shankreceiving and tip receiving slots formed therein, outwardly displacedportions of the hanger body forming said slots, and

a plastic support including a shank slidably extending through the shankreceiving aperture hanger hook is visible the hanger body, a hookextending laterally from one end of the shank, means at the end of theshank remote from the hook for selective engagement with the shankreceiving aperture in the hanger body to secure the support in anextended position relative to the hanger body whereby the hanger isadapted for displaying a garment secured in the gripping apparatus in avertical orientation, and a tip extending from the end of the hookremote'from the shank in spaced alignment with said tip receiving slotfor selective engagement therewith in the hanger body to secure thehanger hook in a retracted position relative to the hanger body wherebythe support of the hanger hook is visible from one side of the hangerbody through the open gap and the hanger is adapted for display of agarment secured in the gripping apparatus in a horizontal orientation.

1. A garment hanger comprising: an elongate hanger body includinggarment gripping means at the opposite ends thereof and having a pair ofslots formed in it at a point midway between the garment gripping meansand a support including a shank slidably received in one of the slots inthe hanger body, means at one end of the shank for preventing movementof the shank out of the slot, a hook extending laterally from the otherend of the shank and a tip on the hook in spaced alignment with theother slot for selective engagement therewith in the hanger body tolocate the hanger hook relative to the hanger body.
 2. The garmenthanger according to claim 1 wherein said one of the slots in the hangerbody has a predetermined width, and wherein the means for preventingmovement of the shank out of the slot comprises a member fixed to saidone end of the shank and having a width substantially greater than thewidth of the slot.
 3. The garment hanger according to claim 2 whereinthe shank portion of the hanger hook includes a portion located adjacentthe member at said one end of the shank portion and having a widthsubstantially equal to the width of the slot, said portion cooperatingwith the slot to secure the hanger hook in the extended position.
 4. Thegarment hanger according to claim 1 wherein the slots in the hanger bodyare positioned adjacent each other and extend in the same direction. 5.The garment hanger according to claim 4 wherein the slots in the hangerbody include end surfaces which engage corresponding end surfaces on thetip and the shank of the hanger hook to retain the hanger hook in aretracted position.
 6. A hanger for displaying garments eithervertically or horizontally comprising: a hanger body including garmentengaging means and having spaced, aligned shank receiving and tipreceiving apertures formed in it, and a support including a shankslidably extending through the shank receiving aperture in the hangerbody, a hook extending laterally from one end of the shank, means at theend of the shank remote from the hook for selective engagement with theshank receiving aperture in the hanger body to secure the hanger hook inan extended position relative to the hanger body, and a tip extendingfrom the hook remote from the shank in spaced alignment with said tipreceiving aperture for selective engage-ment therewith in the hangerbody to secure the hanger hook in a retracted position relative to thehanger body.
 7. The garment hanger according to claim 6 wherein theshank receiving aperture in the hanger body comprises a slot having apredetermined width and wherein the means for securing the hanger hookin an extended position comprises a first member secured to the end ofthe shank remote from the support and having a width substantially equalto the width of the shank receiVing slot and a second member secured tothe first member and having a width substantially greater than the widthof the shank receiving slot.
 8. The garment hanger according to claim 7wherein the tip receiving aperture in the hanger body comprises a slothaving a predetermined width and wherein the tip of the hanger hookincludes a portion that is substantially equal in width to the width ofthe tip receiving slot.
 9. The garment hanger according to claim 6wherein the shank receiving and tip receiving apertures of the hangerbody comprise aligned slots of predetermined thickness, and wherein thehanger hook comprises a unitary structure having substantially the samepredetermined thickness as the slots.
 10. The garment hanger accordingto claim 6 wherein the garment engaging means of the hanger bodycomprises a pair of garment gripping members positioned on oppositesides of the hanger hook, and wherein the tip receiving aperture of thehanger body and the tip of the hanger hook cooperate to selectivelyposition the support of the hanger hook on a line extending between thegarment engaging members of the hanger body.
 11. A hanger forselectively displaying slacks and similar garments either vertically orhorizontally, which comprises: an elongate plastic hanger body includinggarment gripping apparatus at the opposite ends thereof, portionsextending inwardly from the garment gripping apparatus in alignmenttherewith, and a central portion interconnecting the inwardly extendingportions and positioned substantially beneath the inwardly extendingportions to define an open gap therebetween, said central portion of thehanger body having spaced, aligned shank receiving and tip receivingslots formed therein, outwardly displaced portions of the hanger bodyforming said slots, and a plastic support including a shank slidablyextending through the shank receiving aperture hanger hook is visiblethe hanger body, a hook extending laterally from one end of the shank,means at the end of the shank remote from the hook for selectiveengagement with the shank receiving aperture in the hanger body tosecure the support in an extended position relative to the hanger bodywhereby the hanger is adapted for displaying a garment secured in thegripping apparatus in a vertical orientation, and a tip extending fromthe end of the hook remote from the shank in spaced alignment with saidtip receiving slot for selective engagement therewith in the hanger bodyto secure the hanger hook in a retracted position relative to the hangerbody whereby the support of the hanger hook is visible from one side ofthe hanger body through the open gap and the hanger is adapted fordisplay of a garment secured in the gripping apparatus in a horizontalorientation.